Electrical Engineer (Elk Grove Village)
A privately held manufacturer of interactive electromechanical products is seeking an Electrical Engineer to design, build, test, and support the electronic systems at the heart of its products. You will turn product concepts into reliable production hardware across circuit boards, embedded firmware, power distribution, lighting, audio, displays, switches, sensors, motors, coils, solenoids, and related wiring and harness interfaces. This is a hands-on product development role for an engineer who enjoys moving between schematic capture, firmware development, the lab bench, and the factory floor. You will partner with product design, mechanical engineering, software and firmware development, manufacturing, quality, procurement, suppliers, and external electronics assembly partners to take products from concept through launch and ongoing production. The strongest candidates will have experience in a manufacturing environment that designs, builds, and supports physical products. Backgrounds in complex electromechanical systems, embedded electronics, consumer products, industrial controls, robotics, automotive products, appliances, medical devices, or similar hardware are especially relevant. What you will own Electrical architecture and circuit design. Design and maintain electrical architecture for new products and platform improvements, including digital, analog, mixed-signal, audio, sensing, power supply, power distribution, motor control, and high-current coil and solenoid circuits operating at moderate voltages through 48 volts and currents through 10 amps. Schematic capture and PCB development. Translate requirements into schematics, component selections, layout constraints, printed circuit board designs, fabrication packages, assembly documentation, and released production data. Address signal integrity, grounding, thermal performance, clearances, and design for manufacturing and test before release. Embedded firmware and board support. Develop, maintain, and troubleshoot embedded software, firmware, component drivers, bootloaders, and firmware packages for microcontrollers and system-on-module computers. Coordinate hardware and firmware interfaces, revision compatibility, programming methods, and release control. Electromechanical product integration. Integrate lighting, sensors, switches, displays, audio, motion control, AC and DC motors, stepper motors, coils, solenoids, and custom mechanisms into safe, responsive, and reliable products. Prototype bring-up and laboratory validation. Build and bring up prototypes, create test plans and acceptance criteria, and use oscilloscopes, digital multimeters, logic analyzers, power supplies, electronic loads, and related tools to characterize performance, identify failure modes, and verify design margins. Reliability, safety, and compliance. Design for electrical safety, electromagnetic compatibility, immunity, electrostatic discharge, and reliable operation in a high-energy electromechanical environment. Support precompliance testing, corrective action, documentation, and certification for applicable UL, FCC, CE, and EMI requirements. New product introduction and manufacturing readiness. Support prototype builds, pilot runs, production launch, and ramp. Develop test fixtures, programming tools, work instructions, training, and troubleshooting methods for internal production teams and external electronics assembly partners. Sustaining engineering and root cause resolution. Investigate electrical, firmware, supplier, production, and field issues using structured root cause methods. Implement verified corrective actions, engineering changes, alternate components, and reliability improvements. Component lifecycle and supplier partnership. Maintain accurate bills of materials and approved vendor data, evaluate component availability and obsolescence risk, qualify alternates, and partner with Procurement, Quality, suppliers, and board assembly houses on cost, quality, lead time, manufacturability, and supply continuity. Documentation and change control. Create and maintain requirements, schematics, PCB files, bills of materials, approved vendor lists, specifications, test results, firmware release records, assembly documentation, and engineering change records. Maintain accurate master data in manufacturing ERP, issue tracking, documentation, and version control systems. Cross-functional ownership. Self-manage priorities, communicate risks and tradeoffs early, participate in technical reviews, and drive assigned work to a clear decision or production-ready result while balancing performance, user experience, cost, schedule, compliance, manufacturability, serviceability, and long-term reliability. How success will be measured Electronic systems and firmware meet defined functional, safety, compliance, cost, and reliability requirements. Designs move through prototype, validation, certification, and production release with clear documentation and timely issue resolution. PCBs, harness interfaces, firmware packages, and test fixtures are manufacturable, repeatable, and ready when production needs them. Electrical issues found in the lab, at suppliers, on the production floor, or in the field are diagnosed accurately and closed with verified corrective action. Bills of materials, approved vendor data, revision records, and ERP information remain accurate and current. Cross-functional partners understand technical decisions, risks, dependencies, and next steps. Required qualifications Bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Computer Science with substantial electronic hardware coursework, or a closely related engineering discipline. At least five years of professional experience designing and developing electronic hardware for physical products. Demonstrated ability to design and troubleshoot digital, analog, mixed-signal, audio, sensing, motor control, and power circuits. Practical experience with linear and switching power supplies, power distribution, electrical loading and balancing, coils, solenoids, AC and DC motors, and stepper motor controls. Proficiency with schematic capture and PCB layout tools. Experience with KiCad is preferred; comparable professional ECAD platforms are acceptable. Hands-on embedded software or firmware development experience in C, CircuitPython, or similar languages, including microcontroller drivers, bootloaders, programming packages, and hardware bring-up. Experience using oscilloscopes, meters, logic analyzers, power supplies, and related test equipment to validate designs and resolve component- and system-level problems. Working knowledge of design for manufacturing, design for test, PCB fabrication and assembly, soldering, test fixture development, and electronics manufacturing supplier capabilities. Experience supporting new product introduction, production launch, manufacturing troubleshooting, engineering change control, and sustaining engineering in a product manufacturing environment. Working knowledge of electrical safety and electromagnetic compatibility principles, with experience supporting UL, FCC, CE, EMI, ESD, or related compliance testing. Strong analytical judgment, attention to detail, written and verbal communication, and the ability to prioritize multiple development and production needs in a fast-paced, multidisciplinary environment. Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively across product design, mechanical engineering, software, manufacturing, quality, procurement, suppliers, and external assembly partners. Preferred qualifications A master's degree in Electrical Engineering is preferred. Robotics industry experience is strongly preferred. Candidates who have worked for robotics or robotics-type companies and have hands-on experience in a robotics lab, product development, manufacturing, systems integration, or similar robotics environment will receive particular consideration. Experience with RP2040, RP2350, or comparable microcontrollers and embedded platforms. Experience designing electronics for complex electromechanical products, consumer products, industrial equipment, robotics, automotive products, appliances, medical devices, or similar manufactured hardware. Experience with audio systems, ADCs, DACs, LED lighting, sensors, displays, motion control, high-current transient loads, and mixed hardware and firmware systems. Experience developing automated production test fixtures, programming stations, diagnostic tools, or data collection methods. Experience managing component lifecycle, alternate part qualification, supplier technical issues, and production continuity for electronic assemblies. Experience with manufacturing ERP platforms, Jira, Confluence, Git, or Subversion. A genuine interest in building interactive physical products that combine engineering precision, creativity, and a strong user experience. What makes this role different This is not a narrow, desk-based design role. You will see your work move from an idea to a circuit, from a cir
